Rush to Judgment

I know that the last thing that you want to hear is another post, another blog, or another mention of the George Zimmerman trial.  After all, social media and news outlets still continue to put in their two cents of opinions.  I heard a statement from a news commentator that stuck with me: "There is a reason why Lady Justice is blindfolded".  As a minister, the heavy impact of those words made me step back and review who we are as Christians and church.  Although the trial, within itself, has nothing to do with Christianity and the church, there are some key elements surrounding the trial that I believe we can and should learn from it.  Long before the case made its way to the courtroom, people have been quick to rush to judgment.  Without the facts being fully presented, many have already made the guilty/not guilty verdict.  Many have been quick to judge the heart of a man that they do not know. 

But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart. (I Samuel 16:7)

It is amazing to see how social media immediately makes us lawyers, Bible Scholars, or even political experts.  One thing that we can never do is to judge the heart of a man, whether he is 17 or 29.  As I watched the events unfold, I quickly realize that though we are quick to criticize those for rushing to judgment, we as Christians are quick to do the same.  Sometimes, we only invite certain types of people to church or talk to certain people about God.  Sometimes, we would only warmly welcome certain visitors while coldly acknowledging the presence of another.  Maybe it’s the clothes.  Maybe it’s the social status.  Maybe it’s the color of their skin.  Maybe they act different than us.  We have been quick to judgment.  I remember working as a car salesman in eastern NC, from my desk I watched an older African American gentleman step out of a cab carrying a book bag over his shoulder.  Some of the salesman closest to the door refused to move towards him as he approached the door.  A few of these salesmen were even of the same race.  One quickly picked up a phone call and pretended to be with another customer on a sales call.  I slowly rose to my feet and made my way to the door.  His ragged clothes reeked of cigar smoke and his unkempt hair looked as though it had not been washed in a while.  To make a long story short, he bought a new car from us with a certified check from the bank.  How quick we judged.  We do the same in church. 

For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.  There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:27,28)

Tonight at Vacation Bible School, I noticed a group of teenagers who wouldn’t sit with another teenager because he seemed “different”.  I sat with him during craft time.  I made sure he didn’t feel left out.  He needed a friend.  He needed someone to show that they cared.  How quick we judged.   You know that person you ignored?  You could have been the one person to make that difference.  How quick we judged.  Just remember, some people felt the same way about you.  You were a drug addict.  You were a criminal.  You came from a broken home.  You were divorced.  You were a school drop-out.  You were a democrat.  You were a Republican.  You came from another country.  You came from another state.  Your clothes are out of place for church.  How quick we judged.  God does not look at color.  God does not look at social status.  God does not look at financial status.  God does not look at clothes.  God looks at the heart.  He has to change the heart.  He needs to change the heart.  The very thing that you cannot see, that is what God is looking to change.  Yet, we often find that our heart needs more work because we are quick to judge.  Many people come through our churches, never to set foot into them again, because we are quick to judge.  My dad was my hero.  In the mid 1980’s, a group of African American kids came to our church to participate in our church basketball program.  There were a few within the church who were not happy with that.  Cries to shut down the basketball program resounded through the congregational body.  My father stood with those kids, he knew that they needed us and we needed them.  They were a little older than me and I watched my father show compassion to them just like he did with every teenager in the youth program.  Our family took them home or picked them up if they needed a ride, I watched them ask Jesus into their heart.  One of them is now a minister.  How quick we judged.  Maybe we need to take a lesson from Lady Justice and be blindfolded.